beauty contest

noun

Definition of beauty contest

1a : an assemblage of girls or women at which judges select the most beautiful

— called also beauty pageant

b : a contest or competitive situation that is likened to a traditional beauty contest especially in involving judgments made on the basis of physical attractiveness or popular appeal … an elite automotive expo and beauty contest where cars of only the highest caliber …— Hannah Elliott

2 US politics : a presidential primary election in which the popular vote does not determine the number of convention delegates a candidate receives Mr. Ford and Mr. Reagan are listed in the Republican preferential primary or "beauty contest."— Charles Mohr

Examples of beauty contest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The RadWagon won’t win any beauty contests, with its garish orange aluminum frame and tubby 672Wh removable battery perched obscenely on the down tube. — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, "RadWagon electric cargo bike review: the SUV of e-bikes," 8 Aug. 2019 One year, players and media bonded when there happened to be Hawaiian Tropic regional beauty contest in the hotel where media days were hosted. — al, "Remember Nick Saban’s loose dog? Rewinding all 35 editions of SEC Media Days," 17 July 2019 The recent divergence in fortunes of the world's dominant planemakers was on full display at the biennial industry beauty contest, where the companies typically confirm orders for hundreds of jets. — Charles Riley And Chris Isidore, CNN, "Airbus bests Boeing on day one of the Paris Air Show," 17 June 2019 The Transition isn't going to win any beauty contests. — Sebastian Modak, Condé Nast Traveler, "You Could Buy a Flying Car in 2019," 19 July 2018 The now-booming company named its flagship India Pale Ale for a fish that wouldn't win any beauty contests, with poisonous spines protruding from its back; nevertheless, this sea creature also yields delicious flavor. — Fox News, "Best American IPA beers," 30 Oct. 2015 The continent-wide beauty contest (Toronto’s in the mix) comes even as a group of influential economists and planners have created a petition urging cities to reject the retail behemoth's demands for incentives. — Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, "Amazon's second headquarters search hits crunch time; one group warns 'it's a race to the bottom'," 2 Apr. 2018 Perhaps, but tennis is not a beauty contest, even if beauty can certainly help secure sponsorship. — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "Sometimes in Tennis, One Hand is Still Better Than Two," 30 June 2018 With his interest in pageantry well-known, Gonzalez has been invited to judge 61 beauty contests, including a recent Miss Houston Scholarship Pageant in the Miss America system. — Houston Chronicle, "Pearland man national pageant," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beauty contest.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.